The Islington pub has become known for housing some of the best chef talent in the city
With rustic Italian kitchen Tiella having vacated the pub in December, The Compton Arms’ kitchen has welcomed a new resident for 2025 in the shape of Rake. Run by Jay Claus and Syrus Pickhaver (who have worked at the likes of Quo Vadis, Brat and Acme Fire Cult), Rake had been cooking at The Gun in Hackney before making the move to Islington.
Eat This
Rake is all about classic British cookery with a focus on whole animal butchery and sustainable Cornish fish, aka simple and hearty dishes with bags of flavour.
Fittingly, the menu opens with some snacks that are just made to sit on the side of a pint, like battered cockles and clams, melting curls of Cumberland spiced lardo, and oysters nestled under an oozy rarebit sauce, which are some of the best baked bivalves we’ve ever had.
There are also some really clever British re-interpretations of comfort food classics. There’s a hot dog doused in gravy and topped with crispy onions, and ray wing tenders, heavily seasoned, crispy and sat atop a pudgy crumpet slicked with hot golden syrup. It’s the Rake take on fried chicken & waffles and it’s not to be missed.
The fried goodness continues with a supercharged beef and onion dish – thin, delicately battered onion rings on top of a hefty sirloin steak. It’s designed to be shared between two and it would have been much easier to eat had it been sliced in the kitchen before serving (rather than being tackled on a tiny table in the dining room without steak knives) but there are zero complaints about the cooking. Or the price; £39 seems like a bit of a steal for the size of the thing. The extra chunky chips with a poky curry mayo are a must too.
If that all sounds like too much brown food – although is there really such a thing? – there are greens and a couple of seasonal salads, including a winter tomato and radish one, on the menu to balance it out.
Though in truth, this is not the place to come for clean eating. A superb treacle tart served with both ice cream and clotted cream in an indulgent sugary dairy stack is a big fat middle finger to any thoughts of waistlines.
Drink This
The Compton lager goes down very well with the food but you can order anything you want from the bar, or there’s a short cocktail list attached to the Rake menu – the table beside us seemed to be very fond of the dirty martini.
Why Go
As Four Legs, who have gone on to open The Plimsoll and Tollingtons, prove, a residency at The Compton Arms can be a huge stepping stone to success, and no doubt it’ll be the same for Rake. And you really will wanna try those ray wing tenders.
Key Information
Address | 4 Compton Avenue, London N1 2XD
For more information | @rakelondon